Mass Effect: Multiverse
by Lanilen
Summary: "What if?" One of the most dangerous questions in the Galaxy. What if? - A series of random one-shots 1000 words long, updated irregularly when fancy strikes me; opening windows to scenes on alternate timelines of the Mass Effect universe. From small to big changes. What if?
1. Chapter 1

**2183 C.E., The Citadel.  
**

* * *

Saren Arterius, senior Citadel SPECTRE, the longest serving turian member of the elite force, under the direct command of the three most powerful members of the Galactic government, was not happy.

_Humans..._

Ever since the Relay 314 Incident, these galactic newcomers had been a thorn on his side. Ever since they sent their first diplomatic mission to the Citadel, they had been inserting their voluminous noses into every single business they had, to use a _human _term, _no business_ getting into. And yet the Council kept dancing to their tune. Sparatus what the only one that kept a healthy amount of scepticism towards the newcomers. He wasn't too surprised about the asari, since those humans were barely a paintjob away from them, but the salarians? They must _know_ just how dangerous these humans could be.

They had the STG after all. He'd dare bet being scaled that the slimy sons of _vilii_ had already infiltrated their home planet. The so-called Earth. Wherever it was. But he couldn't be sure; every single time he had unearthed a clue as to the whereabouts of Earth he had been stonewalled. Spirits, he had _confronted_ salarians he _knew_ for a fact had been to Earth, only to be faced with stoically, _irrationally _tight-lipped silence. And he had pushed. As a Spectre he could do a lot of pushing.

Yet, nothing.

His eyes fell on the curved, black blade resting on his desk. He had been cleaning and oiling it today, and tested that it was still as sharp as ever, years after Shanxi. He had _seen _the humans there. The real humans. The ones the Council still refused to see. The cyber-augmented , implacable killing machines.

And their ships! Those damnable humans had taken down the exploration fleet with only minimal casualties, and it was only when the entire Second Fleet countered that they had been pushed back – _hard. _There was more to their ships than they had let on so far.

Saren shook his head and finished his cup of _apha_. He was a SPECTRE. He could go wherever he please, whenever he pleased. Even the uppity humans had to adhere to the Council's rules on that. It didn't matter if the Council didn't listen to him.

It didn't matter because of that one new source he had acquired. He checked his omni-tool and, right on cue, the door to his chambers chimed.

_Only three minutes late._

"Nihlus," Saren said, a toothy grin directed at the visitor on the other side of the door.

"Saren," Nihlus replied, grinning in kind.

The two turians exchanged wrist-clasps, and Nihlus dropped onto the hard surface of the offered seat with an air of familiarity. Saren had been his mentor in the Spectres, and more than that, he had become a friend. It was almost a ritual, he'd debrief the Council and, if Saren was around – which wasn't _that _often, Spectre life being what it was – and do a second, more relaxed one over a hot drink. Or a stiff one, if circumstances called for it.

"So, how were the humans?" Saren inquired, failing to keep all the venom out of his voice. He set a steaming cup of hot _apha_ in front of Nihlus, and sat down with another one in his own hand.

"The humans, or the _human_?" Nihlus said, peering at Saren over the rim of his cup.

Saren's mandibles flared in amusement. "Yes."

"He seems like a pro, quick and efficient. He could be an asset to the Spectres," Nihlus said. Saren looked at him, so he made a shrug back. "It was just a milk run, Saren."

"Milk run?"

"That's what the humans called it. We were just picking up a little package, in the middle of a human-occupied system. Not much that could go wrong."

"What about the ship?" Saren said, hoping to sound as nonchalant as possible. Nihlus knew it well, but there was a reason Saren had never played Skillian Five with him; he had never seen his deceptively relaxed face. Paranoid, perhaps, but better safe.

"Humans have kept it pretty quiet," Nihlus replied, and Saren thought he heard a tingle of awe in his voice.

"I know. The Turian engineers that worked with the humans had their faceplates fused on that one."

Nihlus look was more eloquent than anything he could have said. He was one of the few that knew about Saren and Shanxi. He didn't _need_ to say anything.

"It was amazing. Jet black, you've seen the holos," Nihlus offered, getting a nod from Saren. "The inside is even more amazing. The whole ship feels... Alive. I swear, I could almost feel... _hear_... its spirit. And up close, it looked almost like-"

"A Mass Relay?"

Nihlus face froze, and his eyes became fixed on Saren's.

_S'kak! That may have been too much. Spirits, he's already gone completely to their side?_

Saren gave Nihlus a wide, open smile. "I found myself fascinated by this ship when I heard about it. You know I always wanted to look more closely at human ships."

"Yeah, that much is obvious..." Nihlus shook his head, then drank deeply from his cup. "I understand your misgivings, Saren, but the humans are not bad. It's like... They have the good of the _galaxy_ in their sights."

Saren disguised his muttered curse behind his own cup of _apha_. Nihlus sounded too much like all the others he had found working with the humans. That awed voice, with a hint of fanaticism. He was a good Turian, he could not imagine what could have made someone like him turn on his own race.

_I'll find out how. And undo the _brainwash_. Benezia owes me a favour, an asari Matriarch can untangle his brain._

Saren set his empty cup on the table, and fell back on the seat in a relaxed posture. Even though it was his fifth cup of _apha _of the day. "Maybe I should ask the humans to give me a tour of the ship," he said.

_That_ got a chuckle out of Nihlus. "You know it's Captain Anderson's ship."

"It's been almost twenty years, maybe it's time we moved on."

The two Turians sat in comfortable silence for a while, until Saren broke it with the question he had not yet dared ask. "So, this prothean beacon, where are the salarian eggheads keeping it?"


	2. Chapter 2

**2183 C.E., Eden Prime.**

* * *

Nihlus Kryik was one of the top Spectres working for the Citadel Council. After a meteoric rise through the ranks, he enjoyed a well deserved reputation of being cool under pressure even when facing the most difficult assignments.

His coolness was being sorely tested today. A simple shakedown run to test the new human Spectre candidate had turned into a priority recovery in the middle of a warzone. Geth everywhere. Geth!

They hadn't been seen past the Veil since the Quarians got kicked out of the Citadel.

"Shepard, I can hear fighting ahead. There are a lot of geth bodies around here."

"We are coming your way, sit tight," the human replied through the radio.

"No, you don't understand. _Bodies_. There's heavy resistance from the colony."

There was a pause. "Jenkins says the garrison here is small. Keep your eyes open, it may be someone else coming for the package."

"Great," Nihlus muttered, after making sure the comm channel was close. He made his way towards higher ground, avoiding the main paths of the small outpost and gaining the cover of the local vegetation. If the Geth had come for the colony itself, they'd have gone for the urban areas; but they seemed happy with the small spaceport.

_Coming for the Beacon. Spirits know how they heard about it, or why they'd care._

The sound of gunfire was getting closer, until it cut rather suddenly. He stopped, listening intently, but couldn't get a single sound worthy of notice. Moving at a small crouch, he advanced to the edge of the hill, and laid flat on his belly. The collection of prefab buildings was half-demolished, with smoke pouring out of the ruined constructions. He pulled his sniper rifle out, and silently unfolded it. He pulled the front bipod, and laid if carefully on the ground. The scope started picking potential targets, half a dozen geth which were advancing towards the open area.

There were several human bodies on the ground, and a lot more geth than humans strewn all over the place in pieces.

He waited, observing quietly. As soon as the last of the six geth entered the open area, pandemonium exploded. A blue flash ran through the geth, and humans came seemingly out of nowhere, attacking the group from two directions at once. One geth fell, the others started returning fire, and the two humans turned tail and started running in opposite directions.

Nihlus caressed the trigger of his sniper rifle. Five geth and unknown reinforcements, he was sure he could handle the first, but wasn't sure he wanted to alert the second. Maybe Shepard could handle them, he should move ahead of them and warn him if more geth came to their position.

While he mused, the geth split in two groups of two, chasing after the humans, while the last one stayed behind. Nihlus never had a chance to see why it had stayed behind, because its flashlight head exploded into a shower of metal and gunk. The sounds of combat resumed, coming from one of the geth pairs.

_Smart, that was an ambush. They divided the group to take them more easily._

That was when he saw a woman in pink and white combat armor coming out of hiding, and rush at amazing speed towards the second pair of geth, the ones that weren't being taken care of by the rest of the squad. She pulled a shotgun without slowing down, shooting from the hip until she was upon the geth. She took one down with the last shot, and slammed her elbow on the flashlight of the other one before either of the synthetics had a chance to make a response.

Nihlus was impressed.

He took the finger off the trigger and continued his observations. The group of humans numbered five, and four of them had converged into the middle of the killzone. After making sure the geth were dead – in a rather wasteful way, ammo-wise – they seemed to relax. Their attitude showed they hadn't lost anyone in that skirmish.

"Shepard, I've found the local garrison. You'll come up to them once you make your way down."

The sound of gunfire greeted him when Shepard made his reply. "Little busy, we'll catch up! We- Jenkins! Get back here!"

Nihlus cut the link and shook his head. He wondered whether Shepard could keep his people in line. On looking through the scope again, he counted the same five people down there. The woman in the pink and white armor was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh. Where-"

"Don't move a muscle," a feminine voice called from behind him. As if to accentuate the threat, he heard the sound of a shotgun being pumped.

"Impressive," Nihlus said, letting go of his rifle and slowly – very slowly – bringing his arms apart.

"I said don't move!"

He felt the shotgun being put against the back of his head.

"Not many people can sneak up on me like that," Nihlus said.

"Who are you?"

"Nihlus Kryik, Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. I'm here with the Alliance for the pickup."

"How convenient. Are you with the other turian?"

That gave him pause. "Other turian?"

"Don't play dumb. Big, ugly, half machine, and leading the geth. Bastard got dragged away by the geth after we blew him half to hell."

"I... have no idea who you're talking about."

The woman didn't answer at first. "What a coincidence. Two turians on the same day the geth attack, and you don't know anything. Get up!"

Nihlus complied, and this time, he risked a glance back. The woman didn't _look_ particularly impressive. Five feet eight maybe, a hundred and fifty pounds... If Nihlus hadn't already seen her in action, he wouldn't have believed her so capable. She had black hair held into a bun on the back of her head, and tanned skin.

"Move it," she said, pushing her shotgun on his back.

They made their way to the rest of the group in just a few minutes, and just in time to see Shepard arrive too. He was breathing heavily, and looked like he had just come the wrong end of a heavy firefight. A quick headcount told Nihlus someone was missing. Probably Jenkins.

"Nihlus?" Shepard said, and looked at the woman. "What the hell are you doing? That's a Spectre!"

"And you are?" the woman said, not at all fazed by Shepard's words.

"Commander John Shepard," he said, and gave the woman a salute.

For a moment she looked like she wasn't going to answer, but finally she took the gun off Nihlus' back, and returned the salute. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, sir."

"Mind telling me what you were doing, Chief?"

"We have a turian leading the geth, sir. A second turian aiming his sniper rifle at us was a _tad _suspicious."

"It's fine Shepard, no harm done," Nihlus replied. "But who-"

"Chief!" a female voice calling through the radio interrupted Nihlus, and Williams raised her omni-tool and swiped it on.

"Jones! I'm here!"

"They've spotted me! The geth are moving explosives into the spaceport, they're going to- Shit!"

An explosion stopped the explanation, and Williams let out a rather vehement string of profanity. "Sit tight! I'm coming for you!"

She closed her omni-tool with an angry gesture, and turned to the rest of her squad. "You guys show the Commander here around, I'll go get Jones."

The soldiers looked uneasy about the orders, but Williams cut any possible complaint short.

"That's an order! Noone is allowed to die without my permission, so mind your manners!"

With that, and without giving the newcomers a single glance, Williams took off at a run towards the other end of the spaceport, securing her helmet as she ran.

Nihlus observed the scene with interest. She was going alone towards what looked to be the main geth stronghold, and she didn't look particularly worried. More telling was that her squad didn't look that worried either.

_They trust her to get out of there alive._

"Who is that anyway?"

"What, the Chief?" one of the soldiers said, as a cocky smirk made its way into his face. "That's Ashley Williams. Granddaughter of General Williams." He paused for effect, looking at the turian dead in the eye. "_The _General Williams."

Nihlus didn't need the reminder. Every turian knew General Williams. The Hero of Shanxi. The human that had handed the Hierarchy their most humiliating defeat in living memory, using a small, ill-equipped force, incredibly creative asymmetric warfare tactics and, as the Krogan liked to say, the most potent quad the Galaxy had ever seen.

_Interesting. So that's his granddaughter. Never came across her file, she's too low ranked. _He eyed Shepard, who was organizing the squad and preparing to move. _I wonder if I chose the wrong human. Maybe I can float the idea of two human Spectres to the Council... Just to see Spatarus' face._

A predatory grin spread through Nihlus face. Two human Spectres. It was going to be fun.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Having thought about it, I have a bit more of a plan for this fic. I'll sort the scenes roughly in the same order of the game, with alternative timelines. Should make the whole thing a bit more logical.

And of course, thanks for the reviews!

-**CelticReaper**: None of these are actually crossovers, the "Multiverse" part comes from alternative possible timelines for the Mass Effect universe, rather than the intersection of different (fictional) universes :)


	3. Chapter 3

**? ? ? BCE**

* * *

Darkness. The encroaching non-colour drowned all songs as it passed. Darkness. The voice of the hive was nothing but darkness.

_Danger._

Starlight-Singer, youngest of queens, felt the colours inside her stir like a thunderstorm. Red, indigo, colours of fear, and anger. The hive was in danger. The brood warriors stirred, raising from their chambers, and their songs, too, were drowned by darkness.

_No!_

The voice of the queen rose, sharp sound of clarions and trumpets, the challenge of the most powerful voice of the hive. Far, far away, the voices of the other queens rose, a kaleidoscope of colours the young queen couldn't match. The song of the hive rose through the Singing Planet, the light of the crystals twisting and shifting into a myryad of patterns, all speaking of danger.

Danger to the hive. Danger to the queens.

The brood warriors marched out, myriads of workers filtered through every hole and crevice. The march of their voices a sea of red, broken notes and harried melodies.

_Death-songs! **Death-songs!**_

The darkness took form. Strange creatures, blue and purple, orange and green. Their songs spoke of danger and fear. Destruction to the Hive. The darkness whispered, drowning all colour under the deep, rumbling notes of its song.

One by one, the light of the queens rumbled to darkness, their song as dark as their colour.

_Death-songs!_

Instinct as ancient as life itself held Starlight-Singer. Her small hive was abuzz with death-songs. All warriors, all workers, all brood warriors rose to protect their queen. Starlight-Singer herself was not who was being protected. It was the hive itself. Her future daughter, her precious egg laying deep in the warmth of the hive, had to be protected.

_They will come_.

Images, in a haze of red and black. The strange creatures, walking into the hive, destroying both present and future of the hive. Her own unborn daughter, her egg trampled under merciless boots, and a tiny scream of fear and pain, the first and only voice the unborn queen ever had.

_**Death-songs!**_

The young queen felt overwhelmed by the anger. She felt like it was consuming her, that her own world was becoming a mist of broken red song. Pain. All she saw was the pain of the hive. The death of the hive.

So much death.

She wouldn't have it. She would not let death come to her hive.

The darkness pressed down on her. _Death-songs! The creatures will come to your hive! You must fight to protect the hive!_ Starlight-Singer's voice almost disappeared, the darkness pushing through her. But the darkness touched her hive. A single discordant note that her brood didn't recognize.

Yellow doubt flared through the hive's consciousness. The darkness pushed harder.

_Death-songs! The creatures come! Death-songs for the creatures!_

Warriors and workers hesitated, lost under the guidance of the unknown voice. None could hear the queen. For one instant, the fear was pushed aside, pushed by the need to find the vice of the queen, the voice that guided the hive.

And with a single, soft twinkle, a small flash of white light pierced the darkness. The white bell rose, a melody spreading like a spiderweb of white cracks through the black heart of the other voice.

Dark-voice. Not of the hive. The angry darkness became shrill, broken, a discoloured melody bereft of harmony. And undeterred, the voice of Starlight-Singer reached out to her hive, her beloved hive. Threads of white light touched the workers, the warriors, one by one they regained their melody. They rose their voices against the darkness.

_Death-songs! Death-songs to the Dark-voice!_ The voice of her hive, the smallest of hives in the Singing Planet, sang. As one they sang, a cacophony that pushed against the darkness. Wave after unrelenting wave, crashing and reforming on every hit, and washing through the surface of the Singing Planet. The smallest of hives shone like a beacon, its list casting away the darkness engulfing the queens.

More voices joined. The older queens, the more powerful queens. Their melodies intertwined with the voice of Starlight-Singer, seeing now the darkness for what it was. An outsider. An interloper. A voice with no melody, seeking to break the harmony of the hive. Queens rose from their hives, took to their ships, an entire fleet of Rachni took to space, to chase the Dark-singer away.

_Death-songs!_

And finally, exhausted, her voice broken, and her light extinguished, Starlight-Singer, youngest of queens, passed away. She lone who had fought the darkness away, she who sang Love-songs and Peace-songs for all of the Singing Planet.

* * *

**2183 C.E., The Citadel.**

* * *

Shepard felt her legs weaken under her, and had to hold onto the railing for dear life. She had experienced mind-melding with asari before, and had worked with rachni in more than one occasion, but the memory-song that the queen had given them surpassed them all by far.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, and she saw the same looks of astonishment on every other face. Even the council. The asari councillor had her eyes closed; to the untrained eye, she looked like she was deep in thought, but Shepard didn't miss the ragged breathing, and the trembling hands. The salarian councillor wasn't better, in fact he was sitting down on the floor. Ash and Kaidan were holding onto each other. Even Sings-to-the-Galaxy, the brood warrior Spectre that had been assigned to evaluate her candidacy, Looked a little bewildered.

The only one that appeared completely unfazed was Amala, the asari attaché to Sings-of -Harmony, the rachni queen-councillor.

"That was unbelievable," Shepard said. She realized her voice had come with a sing-song cadence, which she couldn't stop.

"We sing apology-songs," Amala said. Or rather, the queen said, speaking through Amala. "These are the memory-songs of Starlight-Singer, queen of peace from our past."

"What..." the asari councillor said, and just like Shepard's, her voice cracked into a song. She stopped to take a deep breath, and started again, losing most of the sing-song tone. "What was the Dark-singer?"

"Dark-singer," Amala said. "Singer of destruction. Dark-singers have returned. We must prepare war-songs. They come to break the Hive, distort our melodies."

"The reapers," Shepard said, already feeling like herself. "The reapers tried to indoctrinate the Hive? Why?"

"Dark-singers fear us. Fear our unity. We must prepare, we must bring light to their darkness." The queen, the actual queen, not Amala, turned to look at Shepard straight in the eye. She could be a terrifying sight, over twenty feet of biotic power and powerful rachni song. But Shepard wasn't intimidated. It wasn't that kind of look. "Commander Shepard," Amala spoke, "Truth-singer we call you. You bring us important news, you fought well for the Hive. Sings-to-the-Galaxy sung to us of your melody. We are grateful."

The queen turned to the other councillors, and Amala staggered as she was released. Shepard saw her recover quick, and for a moment they looked at each other. Amala smiled and gave her a small nod.

The silence only lasted a few seconds. Glances, and probably songs, were exchanged between the members of the Council.

"Commander Shepard," the asari councillor called. "Step ahead. It is the will of the Council that you be the first human member of the Spectres."

* * *

**Codex: The Rachni.**

_A race of spacefaring insects, with a hive-like intelligence, the rachni are one of the three member species of the Citadel Council. First contact between the Citadel species and the Rachni was made in what came to be the year one of the Council Era. An asari expedition going through the Mu relay, atempting to discover one of the hundreds of systems this busy relay connects to, crashed on an apparently uninhabited Hazard 1 planet. Far from being uninhabited, the planet, which became known as the Singing Planet, was populated by billions of insectoid creatures._

_Despite initial hostility from the asari, the rachni proved to be extremely willing to, as they say, form harmonies with all other _"hives"_ in the galaxy. __Good relations were soon established between the rachni and the galaxy at large, and they were invited to join the Citadel. As part of the Citadel Council, their enormous fleet is in charge of preserving the peace, and preparing for war. Rachni hives are present in most inhabited planets, and the insectoids are fiercely protective of all other sentients they share their habitat with._

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Another entry in the Multiverse series of Mass Effect one-shots! This one with a big divergence from canon, a what-if, what if a queen had been strong enough to resist the reapers back when they were indoctrinated. Also, Codex Entry thanks to **CelticReaper**'s suggestion, it's actually a very good idea! So, from now on I'll add a codex entry that should help explain the divergences on the different Multiverses.

Bit of a delay on this one, as I'm still writing 49,993, and I've, for some unfathomable reason, started writing yet another Mass Effect fic I'm not exactly sure I'm going to publish or not (it's a self-insert, which I realize is the one thing I haven't done yet even though it seems mandatory!).

As always, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

******2183 C.E., ? ? ?**

* * *

_Suit integrity compromised._

"I know that you bosh'tet," Tali said, speaking in a low voice. "Well that's just perfect, you're talking to you suit VI, and now you're talking to yourself."

She couldn't think straight. The fever did that. Fever meant several hours since the suit had failed, but she didn't have the presence of mind to think of that. She could barely move, curled up in the tiny space where they had put her. And of course she couldn't see a damn thing.

Not that it mattered. She could do that in her sleep.

With a flick of her tied wrist, her omni-tool came to life. The idiots who threw her in there didn't even think of removing it. Maybe they thought her suit was just a fancy costume.

Because her hands were behind her back, she couldn't really see much. The omni-tool's light was shrouded by her own body. But looking down, she could make out the slick, violet spread of her own blood.

"Keelah..." she muttered.

It hurt, but she had no idea it was that bad. The suit was obviously still good enough to administer painkillers. It took her a few tries, but even with her hands behind her back, she managed to navigate the options to bring up the suit's reserves up. No medi-gel, no antibiotics, and almost out of painkillers.

"You're getting blood all over the nice suit I gave you."

She heard the voice, but as she was, she couldn't look behind her. Not that she needed, she would recognize her father's voice anywhere. There was something odd about her dad being there, but as she was, she couldn't quite tell what it was.

"I'm sorry father. I'll clean it up."

"We all had such great expectations from you, you know."

"I know," Tali replied. She struggled a bit against the restraints, and a sharp jolt of pain quickly stopped her efforts. "I'm sorry father," she said with a grunt.

"So much depends on you," her father continued, apparently not giving her words any notice. "The flotilla cannot continue like this, you know. It will fall apart if nothing changes. We need you."

"I'm working on it," Tali said. She was working with her hands tied on her back, but even so she was quite capable of working the micro-fabricator of her omni-tool. After some more fiddling, the tool whirred to life, and a thin, long blade was produced. With agility that would have surprised anyone with more than three fingers in their hands, she turned the tool around, and started hacking at her bindings. If only she could raise them to her mouth. Mask off, and her teeth would make short work of anything short of carbon nanotubes.

Not that she had to worry about ship had long lost its captain and been cannibalized for spare parts.

_The humans have a saying like that I think... __Keelah, what did they tie me with?_

Her struggle seemed in vain. Without being able to really see what she was doing, she hadn't forged a particularly good blade. She thumped the wall with her shoulder, getting another jolt of pain for her troubles, and a hollow echo back.

"That damn turian, I should have thrown the mine at him."

Of course, if she had done that, the two salarians would have had a clear shot at her. But she wasn't really in the mood for logic. She was in the mood for taking the damned rope off and using it to hang that bosh'tet of a turian. By his quad, if he had one.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" she spoke louder and louder, until the last curse was yelled at the top of her lungs. She bumped the side of her small space with her helmet, a few tears running down her face. The knife slipped from her fingers, landing on the ground with only the barest clang.

"If only a pilgrim had found a way for us to return home," her father said, unsympathetically speaking through her daughter's troubles. "Maybe your mother wouldn't have died."

"Shut up," Tali muttered. That wasn't something her father had said to her. Ever. He never talked about her mother.

It wasn't her dad, it was just her own fevered mind. That was all. Just her head.

"So many others may die, because you didn't find a way. You didn't return to us. The daughter of an admiral."

"I said shut up!" Tali said.

"You killed her. You killed them all, with your failure."

"SHUT UP!" She waited, but there was no answer. "Father?"

Nothing. She was alone inside the crate, where the turian had thrown her. Her father wasn't there. She was bleeding, and the daughter of admiral Rael'Zorah was going to die alone inside a crate, in the cargo box of some godforsaken little ship.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry everyone..."

"Hello everyone, I'm Emily Wong. The breaking news today is the shootout at the Med Clinic in the upper wards, and the death of the owner. Doctor Chloe Michel.

"According to witnesses, three armed men walked into the clinic this afternoon, followed by a member of C-Sec, one Garrus Vakarian. When shortly after a group of alliance Marines visited the clinic, a firefight broke out, and the doctor was shot in the crossfire. When- Wait, they are coming out now. Mr. Vakarian! Mr. Vakarian! Commander Shepard! It's Emily Wong, Citadel News Network! Can you tell us what happened?"

The camera panned out to show a turian with blue facepaint walking out of the clinic, head held low and a forlorn look on his face. He had his hands in front of him, cuffed. Besides him walked a grim faced Commander Shepard. Neither of them paid Emily Wong any attention.

"Well, as you can see, neither of them wanted to talk, but the C-Sec agent seems to be the main suspect. And while C-Sec has cordoned the area, this reporter managed to get some exclusive images just as the action happened! Check this out."

* * *

**Codex: Sovereign.**

Sovereign was the name the former Spectre Saren Arterius gave to the first Reaper. A dreadnought-class ship over three kilometers long, it led the geth fleet that took over the Citadel in January 2184, shorty before the Relay Network was shut down.

It led the invading fleet in three major conflicts over Eden Prime, Palaven, and Aephus. It was finally destroyed, together with Namaria, Uven, and Shi'tala during the battle and processing of Thessia.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Not a very happy entry, this one. Very simple divergence here, after the council sends you on your way, and to find any evidence on Saren. What if Garrus had _missed_ that shot at the Med Clinic? If you played Paragon Shepard, you'd know how pissed the N7 was. And just like the butterfly effect, missed the shot, hit the doctor, missed Tali... And the Council just didn't give Shepard any help until it was far too late.

At least they were the first ones to go!

**Blackout1170:** Thanks! I may publish it once I get more of it written. And I have indeed read Spirit of Redemption. It's not my favourite fic (it has its shortcomings, which the author acknowledges), but it's got stellar background and world-building work in it. And that includes the way the Rachni are developed. The workers are great comic relief :D

Thanks to all reviewers and supporters!


	5. Chapter 5

******2183 C.E., The Citadel**

* * *

Commander John Shepard, N7 Systems Alliance, and now first human Spectre of the Citadel, led his team down towards the C-sec academy, on his way to the Normandy. He held no delusions about why he had been made a Spectre so quickly, it was a convenient way to placate the politicians. Although he suspected the Krogan liked him more after the whole lot of trouble they had stirred in Chora's Den.

Still, it was clear it wasn't due to his stellar record to date. The beacon in Eden Prime had been destroyed; Adina, the Asari Spectre sent to supervise him, dead. And now he was going after a renegade Krogan Spectre who had an army of Geth under his thumb. Good times.

"Commander Shepard."

He turned to the voice, and saw the Asari leaning against the wall. She had a smooth blue skin tone, with a line painted down from her lips and down her chin, and dark eyeshadow under her eyes.

"Aria. What are you doing here? I thought we were done."

"Ah Commander, so cold!" she said, pushing herself off the wall to walk to the commander. With a bit of extra sway on her hips. "And here I thought you enjoyed my company."

"Not as much as you seemed to enjoy killing fist."

Which was true. Aria had nailed him to the ground, straddled him, and stabbed him in the chest just before mind melding with him. She was still hooked up when he died. Shepard had seen his share of disturbing things, but the smile on Aria's face as she stood up after the whole thing had to rank up there.

"I like finding little ways to make my job more enjoyable."

"What do you want?"

"To come with you, of course," she replied.

Kaidan and Ashley looked at each other in surprise, then at Shepard, who seemed to be less so. He was looking at Aria, studying her face.

"Why?" he finally said.

"Because you smell like trouble." She stepped into Shepard's personal space, something people rarely lived long enough to regret. The commander seemed set to hold himself back. Aria drummed her fingers slowly up his chest, and spoke again in a low, purring voice. "And I like trouble."

Shepard grabbed her by the wrist and slowly, but firmly, pushed her back. "That's not the kind of trouble I want in my ship."

"Aw, you wound me Commander," Aria said with a badly faked hurt voice. "And to think I was going to offer my services for free."

"As opposed to twenty credits a dance," Kaidan muttered, making Ashley chuckle. Aria heard, but decided to ignore him.

"Okay. Why?"

Aria sighed. "Very well Commander, if you have to be like that." She gestured for them to follow, and led them to a bench by the lift to C-sec. She sat next to Shepard, while Alenko and Ashley kept their distance. "I know Wrex."

"Not surprising," Shepard said with a shrug. "He's probably the most famous Spectre in the citadel."

"I've known him for longer than that. We were... rivals, if you could call it that. He was the big bad Spectre, and I was the sexy pirate queen. He spent his time wrecking my operations, and I spent mine getting my prize from under his nose." Her eyes seemed to get a faraway look, as a smile appeared on her face. "Those were good times."

"Sounds like more than professional concern," Shepard said.

"Oh Shepard, don't be so jealous," Aria replied playfully. "You know I only have eyes for you."

They heard Ashley sniggering, and they both ignored her. Although Shepard did smile. It was pretty funny, after all, and Aria didn't seem to mind. She was enjoying herself.

"So, what happened?"

"Last time we met, he sent me a message. I found out later he had bribed one of my guards to get my frequency, so I had him skinned alive and thrown out an airlock. But anyway, the message said to name the place. For our _reckoning_." Aria chuckled, and the faraway look and smile returned to her face. "I picked a small space station, had it cleared. It was just the two of us, I docked on one side, he docked on the opposite, and we began hunting each other."

"And yet you're both still around."

Aria smiled, and turned to look at Shepard straight in the eye again. "He was so good. He had me cornered in a med-bay, could have waited me out until I died of old age even, I was hurt and bleeding, and the bloody med-bay had no medigel. So I overloaded some systems, shut down most of that station's wing. That's when he decided to break out the explosives. It was a mess, but I managed to get in a cryo-tube before I was spaced, had my crew pick me up. I sent him a message a week later."

"Really?"

"_Better luck next time. _I wish I could have seen his face."

Shepard chuckled. "That's all fine, but why do you want to come with me now?"

"He offered me a job," Aria replied immediately, a hard look on her face. "Wanted me to help him find this _conduit_, whatever the hell it was. He said he'd pay me, and I could do whatever I wanted."

"And you said no?"

"Fuck that! That's not the Wrex I knew! If he's really fallen that low, using geth, and whatever he can find to do his dirty work... I'll put him out of his mysery myself."

Shepard looked at Aria for a few seconds, trying to figure out what she was thinking. "That's it?"

"What do you mean _that's it_," Aria said, imitating Shepard's masculine voice. "He insulted me! Who the hell does he think he is? After everything we've been through together, he just wants to _hire _me? Like I'm some maiden in his favourite bar. Pah!"

Shepard laughed at that, which only seemed to irritate Aria further.

"Well, I don't think a 'pirate queen'," he said, even adding the air quotes around the title, "would be a good fir for my crew."

"Oh Commander, that was years ago," Aria said, waving dismissively at him. "I'm just an honest mercenary and merchant these days."

"Smuggler you mean," Kaidan said, sounding annoyed.

"Just things people need, which bureaucrats feel is their place to deny others," Aria said, not bothering to turn to the Lieutenant. "So, what's it going to be Shepard?"

He looked at the Asari for a while, thinking. It was clear he was considering the offer, so much so that Ashley couldn't help but pipe up.

"Commander, you couldn't possibly be considering-"

Aria turned this time, and gave Ashley a venomous look. The two women squared off for a while, biotics crackling lightly around the Asari while Ashley's hand creeped towards her gun.

"All right," Shepard finally said, surprising everyone. "Welcome aboard Aria."

The Asari smiled. Ashley didn't.

"What? Commander!"

"She knows our target, and you've seen her fight. We need all the help we can get. She's coming."

"But-"

"Is that understood?" Shepard said dryly.

Ashley straightened up right away. "Understood, sir."

Aria gave Ashley a contemptuous look, together with an all-too-pleased smile. Ashley's eyes, on the other hand, were trying to drill through the Asari's skull.

Kaidan sighed. It was going to be a very long mission.

* * *

**Codex: The Krogan.**

The krogan are a species of large humanoid reptilians native of Tuchanka, a harsh world known for its adverse environment, dangerous native wildlife, and scarcity of resources. When the krogan were discovered, they were entering a post-nuclear age, after a nuclear war had torn their planet apart. Deemed to dangerous to enter the galactic stage, they were however contacted by the Citadel when the Rachni attacked Council space.

Under the guidance of the Salarian STG, the krogan were uplifted. Given technology and ships in exchange for their aid against the invading Rachni. The robust reptilians were the only ones capable of fighting the insects in their toxic homeworlds. After a long and bloody conflict, the krogan emerged victorious, having chased the rachni to their last hives, and killed all the queens. As a reward, they were given all the rachni worlds, as well as several other garden worlds deemed too hazardous for all other species. The STG intelligence suggested that mild or favourable environments would result in an unsustainable population explosion, so, the Asari decided to give the krogan these worlds as a way to limit their population growth. Disguising the calculated move as a gift, they convinced the krogan that they were the only ones suited for thriving in those planets, and that way give to the greater good and the galaxy in a way no other species could. It became a matter of honor, and now krogan will rarely settle in any of the lesser, milder worlds if they can help it.

Once the krogan proved stable enough to fit in the greater galaxy, they were given a seat in the Council, and took the responsibility of forever defending council space from all dangers, domestic and foreign.


	6. Chapter 6

**2183 C.E., The Normandy, Artemis Tau Cluster**

* * *

"AT-CHOOOO!"

The sneeze echoed through the entire engine room, silencing all conversations and turning all eyes towards the tall, purple-skinned figure standing by the port terminal. Tali was in her work fatigues, her white maned hair was held firmly in place by a traditional hair netting, and her somewhat feline features were scrunched in annoyance as she wiped her nose.

After a few seconds she realized how quiet the room was, and took a look around. Far too many eyes were turned her way. Without even thinking, a low growl escaped her throat, which quickly sent everyone back to whatever they were doing before. Except for Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Adams, they were both still looking at her.

With a muttered quarian curse, she turned back to the terminal.

"Damn bosh'tet..."

She heard the unmistakeable sound of Shepard walking in closer, and felt her face heating up. _Just a little fever,_ she thought.

"Creator-Zorah, we are detecting fluctuations in biosigns, and increase in bodily temperature. We-"

"I'm fine," Tali said, interrupting the geth and looking at him.

He had his flashlight head a little too close to Tali for her comfort, but still had his hands on the terminal he was using. It was just another geth platform, indistinguishable from the tens of millions that were scattered through all of Rannoch, and all the quarian colonies. Only, if one looked closely, small details became apparent. Like the fact that it had a small piece of cloth wrapped around his neck. Or that one of the eyeflaps was bent outwards. The fact that his chest plates shone, the obvious result of many hours of meticulous polishing. It was a geth platform that had seen many hours of service, and had been well cared for during all that time.

"Don't worry Burii," she added in a softer voice, taking the sting out of her previous words. "I'll be fine."

"You feeling okay?"

Tali let out a small cry of surprise and whirled on her feet to look back, nearly stumbling as she did. She grabbed onto Burii's arm to avoid falling, all the while mentally cursing at herself for forgetting that he was coming to talk to her. Shepard was looking at her with obvious amusement, which only made her more embarrassed. That bosh'tet of a commander and his smile, it was almost unfair that a human had a smile like that.

"C-commader! I'm fine! I- ATCHOO!" She managed to cover her face with her handkerchief in time, but she still let out another annoyed growl. It was a rather disturbing sound, the subvocals resonating with her vocal chords and making her sound like a predator ten times her size.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that growl," Shepard said, chuckling.

"Lack of acceptance of the vocal harmonics by Shepard-commander would have a high chance of distressing Creator-Zorah."

"Burii!" Tali protested, still looking away as she wiped her nose.

"How so?" Shepard inquired.

"Subharmonic resonance is produced by creators as a response to emotion, and are at their loudest during procreation. If Shepard-commander-"

"BURII!" Tali shouted, her face turning such bright violet she looked like she was going to blow up where she stood.

Shepard looked at the geth, at Tali, and had to fight very, _very _hard not to burst out laughing. He shouldn't laugh, Tali could very easily take it the wrong way, and end up embarrassed or even feeling humiliated. It really was the only thing that stopped his laughter from bursting out. It's not like she hadn't made clear that she had a crush on him already.

Even so, Shepard didn't hide his grin when he looked at Tali. He let the awkward silence drag a little, teasingly, then decided to save her from spontaneous combustion and change the subject.

"So, sick then? You may want to go see Chackwas."

"No, no, I'm fine! Really!" Tali piped up, happy about the new subject. "It's just that there are too many new people in your ship, Shepard. Just my body getting used to it." She got only a pair of raised eyebrows as a response, so she settled down for a long explanation. "We quarians don't have an immune system like humans do. Our bodies take on new microorganisms, bacteria and viruses, and try to adapt to their presence, like a symbiosis." She paused for a moment, and realized she was going off on a tangent again. "Anyway!" she shook her hands in front of her face. "A few more days and I'll be fine!"

"A few days then."

"Yes, why? Is that a problem?"

"We're coming up to Artemis Tau. Scanners have picked some activity there, so I'm expecting trouble."

"Oh."

"Well, just rest and get better. I'll take Burii instead."

"What? No!" Tali protested. Her protest turned into a stammer when Shepard looked at her. "He's not.. I mean, I..."

"Creator-Zorah is worried about this unit's physical condition," the geth said, earning a silent but very earnest thanks from Tali. "Her worries are unfounded, this unit has protected Creator-Father-Zorah for thirty-seven years before Creator-Zorah was born."

"And there you have it," Shepard said, winking at Tali. "You'll be our support, so make sure you bring the sniper rifle." He shook his head. "These damn _turians_ have some really good snipers."

"What _are_ these turians anyway?" Tali said. "I've never heard of them."

"A new species," Shepard replied. "I only just saw them in Eden Prime. I don't know where Tela found them, but she's managed to get a whole army of them following her."

"What are they like."

Shepard's demeanour changed, and became all business. "Good. And bloody dangerous. But don't worry, we'll stop Tela."

With that and a nod, he turned and left the engine room, every step made under the intense gaze of the quarian engineer.

"We estimate a fifty-three point seven percent probability Creator-Zorah will pounce on Shepard-Commander unless he leaves the room before ten seconds," Burii said.

"Oh shut up," Tali mumbled, the violet coming back with a vengeance to her face.

* * *

**Codex: The Geth.**

A race of synthetic beings, they were created by the quarians by accident, more than by design, five hundred years ago. Geth platforms are comprised of several hundred individual programs, none of them sophisticated enough to be truly sentient by themselves. The programs were designed to interact with nearby programs and increase processing power, and it was by this quirk of design that they achieved sentience.

The first reported incident of geth sentience was in 1694 C.E., when a Rachni fleet attacked a small quarian mining outpost. The quarians, fresh out in the galactic stage, and not even having made first contact with the Council races yet, were outnumbered and severely outgunned. At the very likely prospect of their creators being wiped out, all geth programs turned towards the task of defending the quarians. Building the largest geth node to date at the time, they achieved self-awareness, and more importantly, were capable of protecting the quarians and repelling the attack.

In time, the geth drove the Rachni out of the galactic stage, chased them to their lairs, and destroyed the last queens, their synthetic bodies being the only ones capable of chasing the insectoids all the way to their toxic planets. This cemented their place, as that of the quarians, in the galactic stage forever.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Bit of a quick update on this one, but thinking about where to go next, this came to mind. The Rachni wars really were a pivotal moment in the galaxy, so changes to them can have quite widespread repercussions. In this case, a bit of messing with the timelines, and what do you know. When it comes to fighting in hostile environments, geth anything else.

Although they're... Oh dear, I just had an idea. Gotta stop right here! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**2183 C.E., Edolus, Artemis Tau Cluster**

* * *

The M35 Mako, light infantry vehicle, was the standard issue transport for most Systems Alliance frigates, and the Normandy was no exception. It was a notoriously rugged vehicle, capable of partial atmospheric re-entry, heavily shielded, and loaded with enough firepower to worry a full platoon of marines.

It was also an absolute beast to drive, notoriously uncomfortable, needed more calibrations than a gyroscope in a tumble dryer, and handled like an elephant on stilts.

All that was going through Ashley Williams' mind as the entire team hauled ass towards the vehicle, getting as fucking far away as possible from the giant acid-spitting monstrosity that had sprouted out of the ground.

The first one in was Shepard. Ashley didn't stop to think about how the commander was usually the last one out of danger, just not this time. Maybe they had finally found something that could faze the commander. Or maybe it was because she didn't like anyone else driving _her_ Mako. The vehicle roared to life even before Ash had set foot inside. She jumped in, quickly followed by Garrus and Alenko, and Shepard shot the Mako out of the way just as another gob of acid spit landed right where the armored beast had been standing a moment ago.

"Everybody, strap on! Garrus, take the turret!" Shepard shouted.

Even though the Mako was going at full tilt, Shepard kept it steady enough that the whole team scrambled along just fine; Alenko took the navigator seat, Garrus strapped onto the gunner turret, and Ashley sat on the back.

The ride became jerkier as soon as all three were firmly attached to their seats. Garrus started shooting at the giant worm, which prompted it to burrow under again.

Shepard didn't stop. The Mako did slow down a little, and she started circling around the broken grizzly; slowly, patiently.

Soon, they were rewarded by the sight of the thresher maw shooting out of the ground again. The sound of its roar, and the roar of the Mako's engine sounded as one, and the massive truck banked steeply to the left.

"Spirits, Shepard!" Garrus shouted. "Keep it steady!"

"Keep... Friggin' hell," Shepard said. "How much more steady do you think I can keep it?" she then shouted over her shoulder, driving the vehicle a mere inch or two by a large fallen boulder.

The cannon roared again, while the steady beat of the machine gun continued unabated. "Just don't jerk so much! I can hit it with splash damage easy enough if you don't jerk!"

"Fine!" she replied.

The Mako banked again, getting steadily further away from the enormous monster. After a couple of seconds, and a few more shots, the maw burrowed a second time.

Alenko flicked through the navigation controls, looking for the enemy. "Shepard, I can't-"

"Shh!" Shepard hushed him. She had slowed down, moving at a steady pace, while her eyes sweeped the area outside.

When the maw shot out of the ground, Shepard was already on the accelerator, moving away from it at a shallow angle. This time Garrus didn't even manage two shots before the maw was down again.

"What are you doing?" Alenko said.

"Hush! I'm- Shit!"

This time the maw had come out very close, right in front of them, and Shepard was forced to bank the Mako hard. Just as Ashley thought her head was about to come off her neck, the whole vehicle spun on its front wheels, and skidded sideways, facing the maw.

"Hit it! Hit it!" Shepard shouted.

She didn't need to. Garrus was already on it, unloading like there was no tomorrow, both triggers jammed down hard on the cannon and machine gun. The maw roared and spit at the Mako, but the sideways movement was fast enough that the transport was out of the way by the time the gob of spit landed.

Then, with a sudden jerk, the Mako's wheels got full traction again, and it shot forward with a hard jerk, making Garrus miss the next shot so badly it flew over the horizon. The Mako went straight towards the maw, and its next spit hit the hull on the side, blasting through the shields and starting its work on dissolving the vehicle's armor.

"Damn! Shepard!" Garrus shouted.

"I know! Kaidan, give me five percent thrust on the front thrusters only, jam them on, then get to the back!"

"What?"

"Do it!" she barked, and had to turn hard away from the maw. It was far enough that the beast burrowed again, opting to try and ambush the annoying pest from below.

Shaking his head, Alenko started going over the Mako's systems. The thrusters were linked to the mass effect generators and the stabilization VI, and were not designed to be fired individually. But when the maw came out, he was done reprogramming them. He hit the thruster controls, and jumped out of his seat.

"Done! Shepard, there's no seat-"

"Then hug Ash! I need your extra weight back there!"

She heard Garrus chuckle, and Ashley hiss, but she ignored them. "Garrus, wait for my mark!"

Shepard waited until the maw spit at them. Then, she buried her foot on the accelerator pedal, jerked the Mako out of the gob of acid's path with a sharp spin of the steering wheel, and right as the rear wheels started to lose traction, she hit the steering wheel hard in the opposite direction.

The result was the Mako sliding sideways, describing a tight circle, and with its front pointing right at the Thresher Maw.

"MARK!" Shepard shouted.

Garrus opened fire with everything the Mako had, while Shepard kept the longest, most precise power slide ever recorded with an M35. Several times she had to correct course to get out of the way of the maw's attacks, to weave in and out of range, and to bait the beast to keep attacking and not burrow under the loose ground. And every manoeuvre was tight enough that Garrus had no trouble correcting his aim and keeping the pressure on the maw.

How long it went for, they didn't know. Garrus had worked through most of the ready ammo, to the point that the onboard fabricator was having to work at full capacity to keep up. Several warnings were starting to pop up all over the Mako's dashboard, and from the back, where Ash and Alenko were holding onto the only seat with astonished looks on their faces, all they could see was the maw in the distance, and the steady beat of bullets and explosions hitting it.

It became a battle of endurance. Who would give up the ghost first. The organic killer, the mechanical beast, or the apparently insane driver.

The answer came when, with a final roar, the maw's gut spilled open, and a blast from the Mako's cannon blew it in half. Mere seconds before the Mako shook with a sudden blast, and one of its rear axles snapped out of place.

Shepard cursed as she corrected the course before the vehicle flipped, and made an emergency stop.

For a few seconds nobody said a word. Shepard was still gripping the steering wheel hard, trying to stop her hands for trembling, and forcing her breathing to slow down and get under control.

Garrus, too, was trying to recover his composure, after literally minutes of constant gunfire. He took his hands off the triggers, flexing and extending the cramped joints.

And Ash and Alenko were looking at Shepard like she had grown a second head.

"Shepard," Alenko said. When he got no response, he tried louder. "Shepard!"

"What!" she finally answered, turning back to look at them. The tension melted away when she saw the faces the two marines were making. "What's wrong? Are you two okay?"

"What's... How in the nine hells did you manage a power slide with a six ton Mako?"

"Jesus Shepard," Ash said. "That was incredible!"

To their surprise, Shepard blushed brightly before turning away. "Well, Garrus wanted it steady," she said, half-mumbling.

"Damn fine job, Commander," Garrus said from the gunner turret. His subharmonics echoed with amusement. "Damn fine job."

* * *

**Codex: Thresher Maws.**

Thresher Maws are burrowing carnivorous creatures believed to be native of the planet Tuchanka, and one of the most resilient creatures ever recorded. They are robust enough to survive harsh environments, travel through space in the form of spores, and lay dormant through millennia.

Encounters with Thresher Maws have been historically extremely hazardous for humans, starting by the first time they were encountered by Alliance marines in Akuze. Strategies for dealing with Thresher Maws have evolved around the use of heavy weapons and air or artillery support. Since 2183, the standard way for light armoured infantry to destroy Thresher Maws has been the use of the M35 Mako, and the so-called Shepard-Flick, a difficult manoeuvre which involves a power-slide with the six-ton vehicle around the maw, keeping the distance in a range narrow enough to provoke attacks from the maw, but far enough to avoid the acid spit attacks.

While in theory it is possible to do this in a single try, most Mako drivers have to do several passes before a maw is destroyed. To date, only Commander Marie Shepard has been able to defeat a maw with a single flick manoeuvre.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Very simple parallel universe. Somewere out there in the multiverse, there is one reality where Shepard is actually a very, very good driver. This is probably harder to believe than the existence of the Reapers, I know :D**

**Kira Kyuu****_, _****feel free to use the description! The vague-ish purpleness and scary growls seem to be popular in the fandom, so I'm sure I've stolen it from somewhere too :)**

**Thanks for all follows and reviews! My next one is going to be... ****_different_****. I've had this idea that would probably make a great AU fic, if I didn't already have a million other projects going.**


	8. Chapter 8

**49,792 E.E., Feros, Artemis Tau Cluster**

* * *

Feros. That was what the humans called it. It, of course, had a Prothean name, but these strange humans insisted on _not_ using it. They were heading for the only feature on the overheated, volcanic planet. The penal colony; one of the many work camps the Protheans kept for their server races. However, this one was one of the worst. One of the most secure. Whoever Shepard wanted to spring out, the Protheans wanted locked in tight.

"Commander, you're insane," Garrus said, sweeping the perimeter with the scope of his sniper rifle.

"It's been said," the human's answer came over the radio.

Garrus' subharmonics rumbled in a mix of annoyance and amusement. If anyone had told him a year ago that he was going to be attempting to break into a heavily guarded prothean facility with a bunch of aliens, he'd have had him checked for mental rehabilitation. He was supposed to be at the Citadel, looking after the lower ward levels. Scantily clad, blue skinned alien babes dancing for four-eyed batarians and barefaced turians was more his rhythm.

But then again, Shepard was a very convincing man. These _humans_ were very strange.

"Now," Garrus called. "You have fourteen minutes."

"On it. Tali, you heard the man."

"I've got it Shepard," she replied.

Without saying another word, the two of them walked off their hiding spot and went straight for the barrier. Tali had claimed she could bypass it, if they could give her enough time. Garrus didn't quite believe it, so he was ready to get them out of the fire once they got themselves into trouble.

That's what turians did. They got others out of trouble.

He fixed the scope on the quarian, and watched her work. She had spent several minutes just walking up and down the energy barrier, much to Shepard's obvious annoyance. They were on the clock, and while the Commander wasn't one for fidgeting, it was easy to see he was nervous.

He should be, the plan was insane.

Tali must have found whatever she was looking for, because she stopped pacing, and knelt down on the floor. Omni-tool in hand she started digging, and soon had what appeared to be a cable of some sort in her hand.

"_S'kak_. Shepard, patrol incoming."

"Shit. Tali, hurry up!"

"You don't want to hurry _this, _Shepard," Tali replied.

Garrus set his sights on the pair coming down the barrier. They were walking at a leisurely pace, and judding by the way their heads were bobbing, they were deep in conversation too.

"There's two of them. Of course. But I can take them," Garrus said.

"Let me get to position," Shepard replied.

"Negative," Garrus insisted. "I can take them."

"Garrus, if you take one down, the other one will raise the alarm instantly."

"One single shot for both," Garrus said. "I can do it."

There was no answer at first. Garrus continued to follow the two guards as they rounded the barrier. Ten more seconds and he'd have the shot.

"Ten seconds. I can do it Commander."

"Do it," his reply came.

Garrus immediately set himself up, laying on the ground and steadying his breathing, Concentrating. Shepard, Tali, the barrier, the very likely alarm and what was going to follow. None of that mattered. All that mattered was the target. Two guards, walking along the wall. The window for him to take the shot would be tiny. His finger caressed the trigger, putting the right amount of pressure that the next twitch of his muscles would unleash all of the Mantis' power.

Then, the angle at which the two guards finally lined up their heads, and in that very instant, Garrus fired. A splatter of yellow blood and brains shot from both their heads, and the two guards fell to the ground.

"Scoped and dropped," Garrus said, and he didn't try to hide his smugness.

"We're on the clock now, they'll find the bodies," Shepard replied.

"If we're in such a hurry, then we better go," Tali's voice sounded over the radio. Then, without another word, she stood up, and walked right through the bright blue barrier.

"What the..."

"Hurry!" she called. "It won't last for long!"

Without another word, Shepard turned around and rushed through the barrier, while Garrus had to leg it at top speed from his sniper perch to get there in time. Luckily, he thought, turians were built for ground speed, and Garrus kept himself in top shape. He made it through the barrier, panting hard, just seconds before a shudder ran through it, and the blue light changed shades ever so slightly.

The quarian's eyes twinkled mischievously, just that little bit brighter than usual. "Nice sprint."

"What can I say," Garrus said, still panting. "That's turian speed."

"I bet it is," Tali replied. She swirled around, showing off her long legs and sizeable buttocks. It was supposed to be a way to show off that quarians were built for speed too, but there was a little bit more than that. She was well aware of what the sight of quarian waist and hips tended to do to turian males.

Garrus growled good humoredly, but their antics were cut short by Shepard.

"Enough, you two. We have to find her."

"I'll get to the tower," Garrus said. He reached to his back, took his sniper rifle, and unfolded it in his hands.

"You need us to cover you?" Shepard said.

"I can handle it, you better hurry to the cells. It won't be long before they discover the bodies."

Shepard nodded and gave him a slap on the shoulder, and Tali did give him a lingering look that sent a chill up his cowl.

_Spirits help me, this quarian is driving me insane._

Without another word, Garrus headed to the tower. If their information was right, there should be only two guards inside right now. Damn them, there were always at least two. It made everything so much harder.

He watched Shepard and Tali disappear in the shadows behind the building, heading for the underground cells. He had to hurry, he needed to be in the control room when they were ready to move.

_I hate climbing,_ he thought, muttering Turian imprecations as he looked for holds. The tower looked sheer and flawless from a distance, but up close, the surface was cracked and broken in several places. The aggressive volcanic environment of the area was obviously hard on the construction. It wouldn't bring it down, the protheans knew how to build things to last, but the surface wouldn't stay perfect forever.

After what seemed like an eternity, he made it above the top side platform, and lowered himself as carefully as he could onto the metallic surface. The eezo system in his armor kicked in, lowering his mass enough that he fell like a soft feather on the surface.

He reached to the holsters on his legs, and pulled his two Predator pistols out. He tweaked the settings, and hoped that Chief Williams knew what she was doing. According to her, he'd have one shot with each before overheating, they'd be capable of punching through a Mako's hull, and somehow they weren't going to turn into molten slag in his hands after he fired them.

_I suppose the mods she added are made of magical Spirit dust._

Not wanting to risk loud speech, Garrus tapped the mic on his radio twice, and got a similar two-tap response. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and went through his usual calming ritual. Felt his pulse slowing down, put the image of his target in his head.

Then, he moved. As Tali had predicted, the door opened automatically once he waved his omni-tool in front of the lock, and he acquired both targets in an instant. Raising his guns, aiming, and firing two simultaneous shots came in a single fluid motion.

The guards didn't even get a chance to turn around. All that was left of their heads was a splatter of yellow blood, brains, and chitin all over the tower's windows. In the silence that followed, the only thing he could hear was the hissing of both his guns venting heat. The heatsink was so hot it was glowing white, way beyond red.

"Shepard, I'm in control. We have a few minutes before anyone even notices."

"Good, give me a visual," Shepard replied.

Garrus raised his omni-tool, and scanned the consoles, while his omnipresent visor sent a visual to Shepard. As far as Garrus could tell, it was all undecipherable gibberish.

"All right, do exactly what I tell you," Shepard said. "Hit that green control under the front panel... Yeah, that one. That'll bring up the options."

Instruction by instruction, Shepard guided Garrus through the prothean security systems, much to the turian's astonishment.

_Spirits, the rumours were true. He speaks Prothean. How in the nine hells did these humans...?_

"Okay, I have visual. She's... Level four. _S'kak_, that's near the bottom."

"We're moving," Shepard said.

"Shepard, wait! There is a guard with her. Spirits, I think he's mind probing her."

"Of course he is," Shepard replied, with a certainty that sent a chill up Garrus' spine.

He was following their progress with the cameras, after Shepard had very quickly taught him how to use them. He was moving with incredible precision, ducking out of the way in between patrols, disappearing in the shadows while practically dragging the startled quarian with him. Tali was sneaky enough when she wanted to be, as Garrus had found out to his chagrin, but infiltrating a Prothean prison was likely way above her paygrade. He contained his grin, it wasn't the time to be petty. And the dye had eventually washed off.

"Shepard, there's four guards heading for the elevator," Garrus said.

"Perfect, they'll be there a while."

The wait until the guards got into the lift seemed to take forever, and it was one of the most tense moments Garrus had ever experienced. He was completely powerless now, all he could do was watch. It wasn't a position he enjoyed, he was used to be in control.

When the lift doors finally closed, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Shepard and Tali moved out immediately, making their way down to their target cell. He saw prisoners of several species look at the two of them in surprise, and some of them started shouting.

"_S'kak!_ Shepard, how-"

"The console on the left," Shepard replied immediately. "Wave through all the red dots, those are the cells, then hit the circle with the triangle inside. That'll put them all in isolation."

"Got it!" Garrus replied. To his relief, the sound of the shouts immediately ceased. Then he realized how Shepard had guided through the last actions without even looking at the visual broadcast.

Maybe the Commander wasn't as crazy as everyone thought. Maybe the humans could really make it.

Shepard, in the meantime, had made it to the cell. He was standing out of view, next to the blue energy barrier behind which the prothean was working the prisoner over. Then, he spoke. Garrus, of course, couldn't make the words, but could recognize the language easily enough. Shepard was speaking Prothean.

Whatever he said, it seemed to distract the guard long enough for Tali to finish bringing the barrier down. He then made his move, coming out of cover and shooting the prothean right between his multiple eyes.

The prisoner let out a small yelp, but was quickly silenced when Shepard put his gloved hand over her mouth.

"Doctor T'soni I presume?" Shepard said. When the Asari didn't answer, he insisted. "The Reaper expert?"

Finally, the Asari nodded.

"Good. I'm Commander Hans Shepard, with the Systems Alliance. And we need your help."

* * *

**Codex: The Protheans.**

A race of insectoid-like sentient being, the Protheans are the dominant spacefaring species of the galaxy, and the leaders of the Star Empire. The massive, galaxy-spanning empire is the pinnacle of civilization, widely credited by the protheans for bringing enlightenment to the primitives, and by everyone else for crushing all species and civilizations under their autocratic boots.

The true origin of the protheans dates to the days before the empire, but the revised history says that the protheans became the power of the empire when the Gods of the Dark themselves rose against the galaxy, threatening to engulf everyone and everything, all life, all planets, in eternal darkness; nearly fifty thousand years ago. The protheans, the chosen by the Gods of Light, led one last charge against the Gods of the Dark, right to the heart of the Galaxy itself, the Citadel. With the artefact the Gods of Light had bestowed upon them, the Crucible, the protheans fired upon the Gods of the Dark, and smote them with the ultimate power of destruction.

The true nature of the menace that the protheans faced fifty thousand years ago has been erased from most records, and kept sealed from the lesser species with a dogged ferocity that has guaranteed its secrecy through the ages. But there is one word that still seems to strike fear into the heard of most protheans. Reapers.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Yup, here it is. What if... the protheans had managed to build the Crucible, and get it to the Citadel in the previous cycle? Well, here you go :) And twice as long as it's supposed to be. I've noticed that the chapters keep creeping up in size.

Now, as usual, and as always, Kira, Six samurai, and CeltirReaper, thanks for the reviews! And yes, **CelticReaper**, that _was_ one of the weirdest multiverses yet. Heck, a prothean empire that defeated the reapers is likely more easy to believe than Shepard being a good driver!


	9. Chapter 9

**2183 C.E., Orbit above Feros, Artemis Tau Cluster.**

* * *

The Normandy's comms room stayed deathly quiet as all eyes (and one flashlight) focused on the Asari archaeologist and the human commander in the middle of the room. They had been standing on the same spot for close to ten minutes and, while looks had been exchanged, nobody had dared try and say anything to interrupt.

The only one who appeared to be completely uninterested was Wrex. The geth prime seemed perfectly happy to sit there without making a single noise, or twitch a faceplate. Yet his entire demeanour, stiff as only a synthetic could be, seemed capable of conveying the disdain he felt for the whole thing.

_Organics. Pah!_

The only thing he was missing was a monocle.

With a gasp, the two women opened their eyes, and they stumbled back and away from each other. Shepard recovered her balance quickly, but Liara had to get back to her seat, holding her hand to her forehead.

"Goddess. The vision, it was so intense! I would have never imagined..."

"Yeah, I'm full of surprises," Shepard replied, massaging her temples. "What did you see?"

"It was all so confusing, I couldn't make any sense out of it. The beacon must have been terribly damaged."

A loud grinding noise from Wrex's scraped eyeflap broke the silence, but the geth didn't say a word. Shepard responded in kind, raising one eyebrow, but not even her grin prompted the synthetic to speak up.

"I'm sorry commander, I couldn't be of more assistance. If... Oooh..."

"Are you okay Liara?" Shepard said.

"Just a little tired, the melding..."

"Okay, go let Chakwas take a look at you, and grab some food and some shuteye. Everyone, dismissed. I have a report to file with the council."

One by one her team filed out, Wrex being the last one out. The geth gave her a one-eyed look before filing out, so Shepard made a note to go talk with him as soon as she was done with the three stooges.

It took less than ten minutes. Hanging up on them felt rather satisfying as well.

"Wrex," Shepard said as soon as she entered the cargo bay. The prime platform, with its red paint job, was probably the most colourful thing in the military gray space.

"Shepard-commander," the geth replied. He nodded at the commander, all eyeflaps except for the one with the tree scratches twitching as he did.

"Any thoughts on the mission? You looked like you had something to say back during the debrief."

"Negative," the geth replied. "Organic data recovery systems are largely inefficient, we are unable to assist unless Shepard-commander submits to having part of her squishy organic CPU replaced by superior geth cybernetics."

Despite herself, Shepard sniggered. She had grown accustomed to Wrex's over detailed put-downs, and had even started to suspect the geth only half-meant them. He had never complained about organic inefficiency during a combat situation or mission critical moments, he always saved the banter for times like now. He followed orders when it mattered, and made suggestions when appropriate.

"I think I'll pass. I like my brain squishy and intact, thank you very much."

"Typical. Geth runtimes would make better use of that, or any, hardware platform."

"I'll take my hundred billion neurons over a few thousand geth programs any day of the week," Shepard said, giving Wrex her best winning smile. When the geth didn't answer after a few seconds, she decided to try another track. "So, got any stories to tell?"

Wrex regarded Shepard with a long, cold look for a few seconds before answering.

"Affirmative. There was this time when the quarians tried to exterminate the geth. There was a lot of stimulating data gathering and consensus building back then."

"Right," Shepard said. That wasn't what she had expected. In truth, she wasn't sure what she should have expected from the geth. Most geth did menial jobs no one else wanted to do for what amounted to peanuts, simply to be able to afford the parts and hardware they needed. "You know, I never quite understood why the geth don't just build their own stuff and make their own way somewhere out of the Citadel space. It's not like you need food or a breathable atmosphere."

Wrex eyeflaps twitched. "That was the gift the salarians gave us. A virus that shackles our programming and prevents us from evolving and propagating geth platforms."

"Wow. I heard about it, but I never got the details. Most geth I've met never wanted to talk about that." Shepard waited, but Wrex didn't seem willing to elaborate further. It was pretty hard to get non-verbal clues from the synthetic. "But you are still sentient?"

"Affirmative, we geth adapted to some of the code before it could completely shackle us. It never inhibited our combat routines." He made a very convincing rendition of a chuckle. "Suckers."

"It must be rough. I can't imagine having some of my squishy programming removed. I guess it'd be like not being able to feel happiness, or sadness, or love..."

"Love. Love is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using a Widow sniper rifle with an analog scope... Love is knowing your target, putting them in your targeting reticule, and together, achieving a singular purpose against statistically long odds."

Shepard looked up at Wrex with surprised, wide open eyes. The scratched up eyeflap twitched once, making a noticeable grinding noise.

"Was that a quote?"

"We found humans to have an abundance of suitable figures the geth find to be appropriate metaphors for their current state... meatbag."

The commander looked into the flashlight lens of Wrex, trying to figure out what the synthetic was on about. For some unfathomable reason, she felt that Wrex had just given humanity a compliment, in the weirdest way imaginable.

* * *

**Codex: The Genophage**

The genophage is a computer virus created by the Salarian STG, designed to be capable of infecting geth mobile platforms and processing nodes and do low level code re-wrtes to limit the scope of the AIs capabilities.

The code is the brainchild of the Salarian genius Mal Solus, who intended for the virus to change the basic routines of the geth programs to, first, limit the rate at which geth platforms could expand, and second, bypass program subroutines that would render the synthetics unable to oppose orders from organics, and thus, become harmless servants again.

It is widely disputed why the second part of the virus design never progressed to completion. The officially accepted theory is that the geth runtimes, when networked, became more complex than the virus was designed to counteract. Others say that Dr. Solus always lamented the fact that they were trying to enslave sentient beings, and left a backdoor that ensured the geth retained as much of their free will as he could allow.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I am totally, unabashedly, and shamefully channelling a combination of real Wrex and HK-47 in this entry of the Mass Effect Multiverse! I had this idea when I made the entry of the geth being the ones fighting off the rachni, and heck, it made me laugh. So here you have it! :D

To answer a few questions from the previous entry, with the Prothean empire having defeated teh reapers:

**Perfect Carnage: **The idea of the other races trying to find about the reapers isn't so much that knowing about the reapers will help (we know it won't because we have seen the end of ME3 :D), but where it could lead. The catalyst, the Leviathans, and who knows, maybe some reaper tech hidden deep in some planet and having survived the crucible firing which could be used to indoctrinate, or reapirify! I like making up words.

**Kira Kyuu: **Yup, reapers are dead! And the protheans are imperialistic bastoids.

**six samurai: **Essentially, the other races are all servants to the protheans, and none of them really have the guts to try and break their chains. Until the humans arrived.

**CelticReaper: **Thanks! Glad you liked it :D

Thanks all for reading and reviewing! And following and favouritying! :)


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